Bushing or Collet for P-C 7518?

I am buying a P-C 7518 router which comes only with a1/2” collet. I can buy a 1/4” collet, or buy a 1/2” to 1/4” bushing (a bit shank reducer). My question is, I have a 1/2” to 1/4’ bushing from an old Makita router, and will this work in a P-C router? Is a bushing a bushing and work universally?Additionally, I don’t want to spend $1,200 for an entire Kreg router table/fence/lift/stand/and router. A lot of money for a rather simple tool. I have searched and searched for plans for a good router table and fence design without success. If someone can point me in the right direction to a good and accurate-working shop built set-up, I’d appreciate it.Thanks a lot!Ned

1 reply so far

The bushing you have will work just fine. That said, I personally shun those split bushings and try to get collets for all my use. Finding them for a PC is about as easy as it gets, but it pays to have the a collet nut for each collet. As for the table, I built my version of Norm's about 14 years ago, still use it a lot and can’t imagine it being more functional. Be aware, even building one yourself isn’t cheap and a lot of guys question the wisdom of spending that much versus buying a shaper (I’m not one of them).